A northern Wisconsin lawmaker is seeking support for a bill aimed at bolstering the state’s forest products industry. Democratic state Rep. Nick Milroy of South Range said the bill would require the state to give a slight preference to Wisconsin-harvested wood when seeking low bids to buy lumber under contract...

Mass incarceration rates in the U.S. have led a University of Minnesota law professor to publish a 10-step blueprint to reforming sentencing laws and decreasing the imprisonment population.

The new report shows that the U.S. imprisons seven to 10 times more of its citizens than other developed western-hemisphere countries, with many states putting more money into prisons than higher education.

Michael Tonry, the author of the study, characterized U.S. incarceration rates as "breathtakingly cruel." He said incarceration has severe impacts on prisoners, their families and the communities they come from, and that it’s also costing taxpayers a lot of money.